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Description
The Heirophant

Colonel Roy Mustang stands in his office in front of two of his subordinates. His desk bears the insignia of the State Alchemists, the group to which he belongs and which he represents. He holds aloft a pocketwatch bearing the State Alchemist insignia - is he explaining what it stands for, or perhaps offering it to someone to show they have been accepted as a State Alchemist? Perhaps he has some orders to give.

Behind him sits a library of books, knowledge that can only be obtained once one has been inducted as a State Alchemist. On his desk sits a lamp, symbol of illumination, and a telephone and a pen, both symbols of communication. A memo board contains further information and communiques that are informal knowledge passed only to the initiated.

meanings at a glance: the power of groups and organizations; conformity; peer pressure; joining a group; the gaining of knowledge through an organization or via tradition

*******

For a long time the card of the Heirophant was a bit of a mystery to me. I'd see the figure of the pope (or another holy figure) sitting on a throne, and just couldn't connect the image with the meanings of the card given in the books. Finally I realized why: The card descriptions all talk about the various powers and restrictions of belonging to a group, but the picture seemed to talk about devotion to a particular religious faith, and the two concepts just didn't meet in my mind. Finally I realized that if the card was really about groups, then the High Priest/ Pope was originally chosen for the picture simply because he represented a group that was very powerful and very familiar to most people at the time the tarot was first developing. That made more sense to me, and also allowed me to figure out an image that I could better connect with.

I realize exactly how loaded this choice of character is for this card, as should anyone who has seen Full Metal Alchemist all the way through. (And if you haven't yet, you should. It's a series that leaves you with Brain Munchies to savour.) I stand by my decision though, because nobody ever said that belonging to a particular group was necessarily a good thing. Or a bad thing. In this context, it's just a thing.

Description
The Heirophant

Colonel Roy Mustang stands in his office in front of two of his subordinates. His desk bears the insignia of the State Alchemists, the group to which he belongs and which he represents. He holds aloft a pocketwatch bearing the State Alchemist insignia - is he explaining what it stands for, or perhaps offering it to someone to show they have been accepted as a State Alchemist? Perhaps he has some orders to give.

Behind him sits a library of books, knowledge that can only be obtained once one has been inducted as a State Alchemist. On his desk sits a lamp, symbol of illumination, and a telephone and a pen, both symbols of communication. A memo board contains further information and communiques that are informal knowledge passed only to the initiated.

meanings at a glance: the power of groups and organizations; conformity; peer pressure; joining a group; the gaining of knowledge through an organization or via tradition

*******

For a long time the card of the Heirophant was a bit of a mystery to me. I'd see the figure of the pope (or another holy figure) sitting on a throne, and just couldn't connect the image with the meanings of the card given in the books. Finally I realized why: The card descriptions all talk about the various powers and restrictions of belonging to a group, but the picture seemed to talk about devotion to a particular religious faith, and the two concepts just didn't meet in my mind. Finally I realized that if the card was really about groups, then the High Priest/ Pope was originally chosen for the picture simply because he represented a group that was very powerful and very familiar to most people at the time the tarot was first developing. That made more sense to me, and also allowed me to figure out an image that I could better connect with.

I realize exactly how loaded this choice of character is for this card, as should anyone who has seen Full Metal Alchemist all the way through. (And if you haven't yet, you should. It's a series that leaves you with Brain Munchies to savour.) I stand by my decision though, because nobody ever said that belonging to a particular group was necessarily a good thing. Or a bad thing. In this context, it's just a thing.